Cock O' The North - A Leprechaun Listening Game

Cock o' the North - Scottish & Irish Ceilidh Music.

What is Cock O' the North?

This is a fiddle tune we learn in our 2nd year of fiddle here (around ages 7-8).  I played this game this year beginning with the 5 year olds and the 8 & 9 year olds loved it too.

If you've never heard the tune, you will hear it played in the video above...obviously by some old pros...somehow we never sound quite this lilting and relaxed in class when we're learning it! ...one day though! 

The other way you can learn the tune is to email me and ask for my mp3 recording (just me singing with a piano accompaniment).  I'm happy to email it to you.

Typically there are no words that accompany Cock O'the North except this year we have Leprechaun Lyrics.   This year it's a game and a song.

There's a Tiny Leprechaun

There's a tiny leprechaun with his pot o'gold, O' Malley!

There's a tiny leprechaun with his pot o'gold.

He's never going to give it up and

He's never to going to tell you, NO!

He's never going to share it with you

Even when he's old!

(clap, clap, clap, clap...)

This is my first shot at figuring out how to record, upload and share a tune on my blog. 

Hope it works for you.  It's a simple recording to help you learn the tune.

I hope to improve my skills in this area over time!

Most of the parents do not play fiddle so it's not a tune the kids are exposed to at home.

I loan out CD's and play it on the fiddle frequently over the years in classes so the children eventually find it familiar to their ears.

How to play the game (it's a variation of Hot & Cold)

1. Create the object for hiding. I made a shamrock shape with a pot o' gold image for hiding.
2. I modelled singing the song, children listening.
3. I played the fiddle tune for the kids and they sang along a few times.
4. We had some fun turning our last names into Irish last names by changing O'Malley into O'something else.   We add "O'________" to the front of each of our last names. (eg. Susan Seale becomes O'Seale) (John Smith becomes O'Smith) and then we add the name into the first line of the song in place of O'Malley.
5. Once we know the words we play the game.
6. One child is chosen to be the O'_______. That child leaves the room while we hide the pot o'gold.
7. One child is chosen to be the "leprechaun" and hides the shamrock. The rest of us watch where the shamrock is hidden.
8. We sing the song as a signal for the searcher to return to the room.
9. The O' Searcher looks everywhere for the gold.  
10. While the searcher searches the rest of us are clapping loudly (forte) when the searcher is close by and clapping softly (piano) when the searcher is far away.  Eventually the searcher finds the pot o'gold and the game starts over with a new "leprechaun" and "searcher".

The Music
If you'd like a copy of this folk tune I'd be happy to email the mp3 file (me singing the leprechaun version of the song with simple piano accompaniment).  Just let me know.  Send me an email!

Happy St. Paddy's Day to you!